Tim Huelskamp: “I appreciate the gentleman from Kentucky yielding to me on this very important legislation. At a time when 25 million…”

“I appreciate the gentleman from Kentucky yielding to me on this very important legislation. At a time when 25 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed, the last thing Washington needs to be doing is making it more difficult to grow the economy. But that seems to be the operating question of this administration. The question is this: They ask, how can we make it more challenging for America's job creators to hire? America's energy sector is under direct assault. Energy companies looking to meet the rapidly growing energy needs of our Nation are either being forced to put on hold their efforts or are self-imposing barricades on future construction or expansion as a result of new or anticipated regulatory requirements. It has been reported recently that 351 stalled energy projects cost the Nation $1.1 trillion in GDP and 1.9 million jobs, yes, jobs. On this list is the Sunflower Electric Power Plant in Holcomb, Kansas. Sunflower Electric is a rural co-op that with a needed expansion can provide many new jobs in western Kansas. Most importantly, this expansion will allow Kansas to have the energy it needs in order to prevent brownouts, which are a very real possibility and a threat to our part of the country. Not only do families, schools, and hospitals depend on this energy production but. So does our agriculture sector, which is a key and vital component of rural Kansas.…”